President’s Message Spring 2015

Our publications have become more and more important and are a valuable source of information on up-to-date legal and industry developments for professionals in the gambling industry all over the world.  From the very first publication of the Casino Lawyer, our first IMGL magazine, until today we have continuingly been growing.  Today, the IMGL regularly produces four major publications of this kind which are all highly appreciated internationally.  We pride ourselves on ensuring a high level of quality in our articles and on having so many leading experts of the industry contributing to our publications.  The IMGL publications are further characterized by their high topicality and the fact that not only domestic but also international developments are covered.

Today marks the beginning of a new era for the Gaming Lawyer magazines.  Given the success of the IMGL magazines, it is time that our growing publication network join together under a common brand and design.  As of today, the Casino Lawyer – in a way the foundation of the IMGL publications – will therefore be renamed the American Gaming Lawyer and will join the internationally well-recognized Gaming Lawyer family.  The American Gaming Lawyer will primarily focus on North America but, following the principles of the IMGL, will also provide valuable insight and information on current developments in jurisdictions all over the world.  Same applies to the Canadian Gaming Lawyer focused on Canada, the European Gaming Lawyer, focused on up to date developments in Europe and the La Ley Del Juego magazine.  La Ley Del Juego is published in the Spanish language and focuses on all Spanish-speaking jurisdictions in Europe, Central and South America.  It addresses issues unique to these emerging markets.

I am proud to announce that reasonably soon, the Asian Gaming Lawyer, will be joining the Gaming Lawyer family as our fifth periodical in the series.  The Asian Gaming Lawyer will be published in cooperation with Asia Gambling Brief, and I am looking forward to this collaboration and sharing information on current developments and legal challenges of the gaming industry in Asia and the Pacific region.

I take this opportunity to emphasize the excellent cooperation with our other publishers EGL – iGaming Business and CGL – Canadian Gaming Business Magazine (MediaEdge). And not to forget our frequent contributions to the UNLV Gaming Law Journal and to Gaming Law Review and Economics also prove the high academic level of gaming legal expertise.

For all our publications, I invite our members to contribute legal content to the magazines and to use them as a platform to demonstrate their expertise and enable others to benefit and learn from it.  Since the IMGL is a non-profit organization I also call on all members to continue the ongoing support for our publications and to frequently place ads in the issues of the Gaming Lawyer series.  The IMGL Gaming Lawyer publications are read by a total of more than 35,000 print subscribers worldwide and thousands of additional viewers on the IMGL website.  Further they are distributed at major trade shows, events and international gaming conferences. The Gaming Lawyer therefore acts as a strong selling point for the IMGL.  Due to the good reputation of the IMGL publications, advertising in one of the Gaming Lawyer publications also provides a unique opportunity for you to reach multiple industry players.  At the same time, advertisements and contributions foster the IMGL in demonstrating the expertise of our organization and its members and friends.

I hope you enjoy this issue of the all-new American Gaming Lawyer and look forward to seeing you soon.        —Joerg Hofmann